Gunn Called It 'True Detective in the DCU' — Viewers Agreed Within 24 Hours: Nathan Fillion's New HBO Series Is #1 in the US and 18 More Countries
Turns out the secret to making people care about Green Lantern was to stop making it about Green Lantern.
Let's get one thing out of the way: the last time Hollywood handed a Green Lantern ring to a charming man with good hair, we got the 2011 Ryan Reynolds movie, a film so cursed that its own star spent a decade apologizing for it in other franchises. So forgive me for going into Lanterns with the enthusiasm of someone attending a second wedding for a cousin whose first marriage I also had doubts about.
And yet. Lanterns premiered Sunday, August 16, on HBO and HBO Max, and by Monday it was the #1 title on the platform in the United States. Not "trending." Not "top 10." Number one, in a single day, with a show about two space cops investigating a murder in Nebraska. James Gunn spent two years calling this thing "True Detective in the DCU," which sounded like a pitch-meeting fever dream right up until roughly 9:57 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
The Part Where It Actually Worked
Here is what Lanterns is, for the uninitiated: Kyle Chandler (Coach Taylor, eternal) plays Hal Jordan, a weathered veteran ring-slinger. Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge, cheekbones) plays John Stewart, the new recruit. They get dragged into a murder case in Rushville, Nebraska, that turns out to be bigger than Nebraska. The season hops between 2016, when Hal is training John, and present-day 2026, about a year after Superman and Peacemaker season 2.
It was created by Chris Mundy (Ozark), Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen, a thousand Reddit threads), and comics writer Tom King. Kelly Macdonald plays a local sheriff. Laura Linney is in it, because of course she is. Ulrich Thomsen plays Sinestro, which is a name you say out loud once and then never again in front of your therapist.
And Nathan Fillion is back as Guy Gardner, the loud, bowl-cut, deeply irritating Lantern he's now played in Superman, Peacemaker, and this — making him, improbably, the most-used actor in the entire DCU.
Nathan Fillion, a man who was in Firefly, is now the connective tissue of a $10 billion cinematic universe. Nobody saw this coming, least of all Nathan Fillion.
The Numbers, Because We Love Numbers
Per Screen Rant, after 24 hours the show was sitting at:
- #1 on HBO Max in the US and #1 worldwide on the platform.
- #1 in 18-ish other countries, including Germany, France, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Moldova, Haiti, Belize, and the Bahamas (which, for a show set in Nebraska, is a flex).
- #2 across most of Latin America and Spain, plus the Netherlands and Switzerland.
- 95% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, 86% from audiences — and critics and audiences agreeing on a superhero property is rarer than a good Green Lantern movie.
Why This Matters, and Why Gunn Is Probably Exhaling
The DCU has had a weird year. Superman did fine. Supergirl hit the box office like a wet towel. So a prestige HBO drama landing at #1 on day one is less "nice bonus" and more "oh thank God" for the people in charge.
The trick, as far as I can tell, is that Lanterns isn't trying to be a superhero show. It's a slow, grim, small-town murder mystery that happens to involve two men with magic rings, in the same way True Detective season one was a buddy-cop show that happened to involve spaghetti monsters. Mundy actually worked on True Detective: Night Country, so the comparison isn't just Gunn being Gunn. It's the résumé.
The lesson here, apparently, is that the best way to make a Green Lantern show is to make a good show and then, quietly, let the Green Lanterns in.
Fillion, As Ever, Is Having a Great Time
Asked by Screen Rant about being the DCU's most-deployed actor, Fillion said he hopes it means he'll stay employed into his golden years, which is the most honest thing anyone in a superhero franchise has ever said out loud. He's also booked for next year's Man of Tomorrow movie and is voicing Guy in the upcoming animated Mister Miracle. Five DCU projects. Mal Reynolds is the face of DC now. Sit with that.
Lanterns airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max. I'd say "watch it," but statistically, you already are.
